New Beginnings
by KD Skywalker
Summary: Loss, love, regret and longing bring people together. But will it be enough to survive? Or is there more to life? Recent events have Steve Rogers questioning just that. Sequel to my Avengers story - "The Things They Carry"
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:**

"Uncle Steve?"

Steve Rogers looked up at the sound of his name. He was sitting in the kitchen of the townhouse on the Upper West Side that Emma and Clint Barton owned. He turned his attention from the sketch he had been working on to the tiny voice that had said his name from the doorway.

There stood Audrey, Emma and Clint's 5-year-old daughter. She was dressed in a frilly black dress and she was clutching her pink teddy bear. Behind her was her trusty black lab, Elvis. Tears were rimming the eyes of the little girl as she made her way towards him.

"What's wrong, Audrey?" he asked as he swept the little girl up into his arms and placed her on his knee. She laid her head against the shoulder of his black suit as the tears began to finally fall. After a second, she finally spoke up.

"Will mommy ever be happy again?" she asked sniffling, wiping her tears against her arm.

Steve sighed. It had been several weeks since Clint had supposedly been killed during the mission in Pakistan when Emma had been shot and left for dead. Both the Avengers and his Strike team from S.H.E.I.L.D. had scoured the area for any signs of Clint's body. Each time was the same result – no body, but there had been signs that Clint must have died – ranging from massive amounts of blood to his boot marks. All of which led to a cliff that dropped into one of the many rivers that ran along the Himalayas. So there was no telling where his body was.

During that time Emma had been held at the S.H.E.I.L.D. trauma center in Zurich, Switzerland to recover from her injuries. After two weeks, she had finally been allowed to return home. All of the Avengers had taken turns monitoring her recovery and helping out with taking care of Audrey, especially after Emma had decided to move back to the townhouse that she and Clint owned. There was an agreement among the team that Emma still needed time to grieve for her husband.

Yet that didn't mean that they would leave her alone. Clint had been apart of their team from the beginning and she only added to it – especially once she and Tony had been reunited after 24 years of being kept apart.

"Eventually she'll be happy again. It will just take time," he finally answered. The little girl nodded against his shoulder as more tears began to fall.

"I just want daddy to come home and make mommy happy."

"if it were that simple…"

* * *

Memories tumbled through Emma's mind…each one vivid and bright.

…the first time that they had met at S.H.E.I.L.D. headquarters thanks to Fury insisting that she have a partner.

…him saving her life countless times…

…their first date…

…the first time they had made love together...

…the first time her had asked her to marry him…

…when she had told him that she was pregnant with Audrey and the look of pure joy on his face…

…the second time he asked her to marry him…

…the times they had spent with their daughter, including their wedding day…

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she carefully put in the diamond stud earrings that Clint had given her for Christmas the first year that they were together as a couple. Stepping back, she looked at herself in the full length mirror. She was wearing a black dress with a dark purple belt – Clint's favorite color on her. It had taken a while to get ready that morning, because this was the day that she had been dreading since she had woken up in Zurich with Nick Fury sitting by her bedside.

Today she was being forced to say goodbye to her husband.

Even though there was not a body to bury, it had been decided that one of Clint's bows and quiver of arrows would be buried instead. Fury had insisted that some kind of memorial be held since Emma needed it to cope. It had taken some pushing from Tony, but finally all the plans had been made.

While she knew that the director of S.H.E.I.L.D. had only her and Audrey's best interests in mind, she also would not forget part of their conversation the day that she woke up in Zurich...

"_You used the formula didn't you?"_

_Fury nodded. "It was the formula or subjecting you to the T.A.H.I.T.I. program. I thought that this was better suited for you…"_

It wasn't fair. She was alive while Clint was gone. This wasn't how life was supposed to be. She and Clint were supposed to have more children together then watch them grow up as they grew old and grey together.

She wasn't supposed to do it all on her own.

But what in her life had ever been fair or easy?

A knock at her bedroom door caused her to come out of her thoughts. Looking up she saw Steve standing in the doorway with a sleeping Audrey in his arms. Emma figured that her daughter must had cried herself to sleep in his arms – just like she had done with all the other Avengers over the last few days. He also had a look of concern on his face. "I was just making sure that you were ok," he whispered, so that he didn't wake Audrey.

"About as ready as I am going to be."

* * *

_**AN: Hey everyone! This story picks up from where 'The Things They Carry' left off. I hope everyone liked the short chapter for now. More coming soon!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A slow drizzle had set upon New York City as those who were gathered for Clint Barton's funeral slowly made their way from the graveyard back to the line of cars waiting to return them to their own homes – their own lives. There had not been a lot of people to attend the funeral, but a fair amount.

As the cars pulled away from the graveyard, two lone figures stood at the gravesite. Looking down upon them was a granite angel that seemed to be weeping.

Pulling his sister closer to him, Tony Stark did all that he could to consul Emma as warm tears streamed down her cheeks. "Dad never gave up looking for Captain America," he gently said to her as he eyes flickered to the two gravestones that read "Stark" that were to the right of where Clint's memorial was. "And I'm damn certain that none of us will ever stop looking for Clint."

That only caused Emma to cry harder. "What did I say?" Tony asked as he wrapped his arms tightly around her, letting the umbrella he had been holding drop to the ground. She sobbed against his shoulder.

"I can't keep hoping that Clint is going to magically reappear," she said through her sobs. "it's not fair to anyone, especially Audrey."

"Hey we all have to hold on to something to keep us going. How else are we supposed to survive without hope?"

Emma didn't say anything else as she allowed herself to finally turn away from the gravesites and make her way back to the car where Audrey was waiting with her grandmother. Tony picked up the umbrella and followed after her. a million thoughts were running through his head at the moment – mainly about his little sister. He was worried about her. Fury had told him stories about how reckless she was when she was younger at times. Tony figured that it must be in the Stark DNA to be reckless as youths. Yet part of him was worried that her reckless side might just return.

* * *

Sitting at the edge of her daughter's bed, Emma watched as Audrey slept. Watching her daughter while she was off in a dream world always brought comfort to Emma – especially when Clint had been gone in the past. Yet now she worried.

How was she going to be able to raise Audrey on her own? Every girl needed a father at some point in her life. Sure there were others who would help Emma – Tony, Bruce, Steve and sometimes, Thor – but that wouldn't be the same.

They weren't Clint. They weren't Audrey's father.

Another thing she worried about was the fact that she had been shot and left for dead on that mountainside. Whoever had done it, knew exactly what they were doing. The question was why? Had it been because of what Emma had been monitoring for Fury? Would Audrey become a target?

There were other questions as well, but her main concern at the moment was her daughter and her safety. Would they be best living away from the Avengers Tower or would they be safer there? Would she even return to S.H.E.I.L.D. or the Avengers? There would be time to sort out everything but right now she just needed to take it day by day.

Quietly, Emma stood up from her sitting position, kissed Audrey's cheek goodnight and left her daughter's bedroom. Once in the hallway, she decided that it was too early for bed since she knew that she would not be able to get to sleep with all the thoughts running through her mind at the moment. Perhaps some tea would help calm her down a bit.

Making her way towards the kitchen, she stopped in the doorway and watched for a moment as Steve sat at her kitchen table, obviously working on some sort of sketch. Who would have thought that Captain America liked to draw? Yet she had seen some of his sketches and they were pretty good.

"You know that I don't need someone here all the time," she said as she walked into her kitchen. "I'm sure that you'd rather be sleeping in your own bed."

Steve looked up at her and shrugged a bit. "Every bed I sleep in seems too soft. I find the floor better at times."

"Really?" she asked as she took out a cup for her tea and began to boil some water. "I've never heard of that."

"But I don't mind staying and making sure that you are alright. Besides Tony would just want to take apart everything then put it back together, Bruce would just bore you with whatever he was reading, and Thor would destroy most everything. So it was either Natasha or me. I volunteered since it seems that you and Natasha have a working relationship and that is about it."

Emma considered what Steve had just said. He actually did have a point about each of the Avengers. "So what is our relationship?" she asked as she sat down at the table next to him with her cup of tea.

"Friends," he answered. "Teammates."

"You know that this is the first normal conversation I've had with anyone since…since…"

She looked down at her tea cup as a single tear splashed into the dark brew. She felt a sudden gentle squeeze on her shoulder that made her look up. Steve had reached over and squeezed her uninjured shoulder. "You know that I'll be here whenever you need me as well as the others."

Emma felt a small smile forming on her face as she nodded. There were very few people in this world that understood her. Perhaps she had just found one more.

* * *

Slowly each day became a bit better than the previous one. There were less hours spent crying or moping around by both Emma and Audrey. Each day Emma tried to spend a bit of time alone with her daughter – may it be at the park with Zeus or going to Emma's bookstores. Then each night, there was someone to make sure that Emma wasn't struggling too much. She did enjoy the company, since Clint's mother had left the day of the funeral to return to Iowa. And it did give her a chance to get to know each of her teammates a little bit better.

"Are you coming with us and Uncle Tony to the baseball game tomorrow?" Audrey asked Steve one night as the trio ate pizza that Emma had delivered for dinner.

"I wish I could Audrey, but I have to go back to Washington D.C. tomorrow," he answered. "But I promise to go with you to another one."

Audrey seemed satisfied with that answer, yet Emma wasn't. "Why do you have to report to the Triskelion?" she asked. "When we have a field office here."

Steve shrugged his shoulders. "I guess they want to keep me close to headquarters. But you and Audrey can visit anytime you like."

"Maybe," she replied.

Yet something was bugging Emma deep down. Why did Steve have to stay so close to the Triskelion? There had to be more to this then what he had been told.

* * *

_**AN****: Thank you to all those who added this story as a favorite or followed it already! But I would also love some reviews, pleaseeeeee. I promise to keep writing fast!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 **

"Mommy, when are you going to go back to work?" Audrey asked as she and Emma walked through Central Park one afternoon along with Elvis.

It had been about three months since Clint had passed away. Each day was a little bit better than the last. But still, Emma missed him more than anything in the world.

"But I do go to work while Kaleigh watches you. And sometimes you come with me to the bookstores as well."

"I mean work like with Uncle Tony…"

Emma stopped walking and knelt down to her daughter's height. "I could go back and do that if I wanted to. But I don't want to leave you…"

"You mean die?"

"Yes," she said brushing a loose strain of hair out of her daughter's face. "I don't want to die and leave you alone in the world."

"But mommy you are a super solider like Uncle Steve!"

"Who told you that?"

"I heard Uncle Tony and Uncle Bruce talking about it one day before we moved away."

Emma sighed. If there was one thing Audrey had inherited from her side of the family tree it was the Stark gene for being smart. Sometimes her daughter amazed her.

"I don't even know if it worked, Audrey."

"But you are here mommy. Uncle Tony told Uncle Bruce that it was the only way that you are alive."

Emma sighed. There was no way around this issue with Audrey and there was no easy way to explain what had exactly been done to her either. "Do you want me to go back to work?"

Audrey nodded. "Just not all the time. You were happier then."

Emma smiled as she hugged her daughter. "I promise not all the time."

And for the first time in several months, Emma Barton smiled a true smile. Perhaps Audrey was right. She was happier when she was out on a mission. Besides if she did go back to S.H.E.I.L.D., she could work on finding out exactly who killed Clint.

* * *

Steve sat in his S.H.E.I.L.D. provided apartment in Washington, D.C., trying to focus on the book he was attempting to read. Instead his mind kept going back to a simple fact – he was lonely.

Ever since being assigned to the Triskelion, he had been kept busy working with the S.H.E.I.L.D. special forces team known as S.T.R.I.K.E. as well as working with Natasha on a various assignments. But at night if he wasn't on a mission, his mind wandered.

He often thought about what it would be like if he had someone to return home to at night. When he had been in NYC, he had witnessed how happy Tony was whenever Pepper was around. He also remembered a time when Emma's smile could light up a room whenever Clint was with her.

Perhaps if he hadn't of crashed into the Arctic then he would have had someone to return home to.

Yet the past was the past and there was no use on dwelling on what could have been. While he knew that he needed to move on from the memory of Peggy Carter, his heart just was not letting him. What was it going to take for him to find the right match for his heart?

Who knew?

So for now, all he had was his work to keep him occupied.

* * *

Pushing up the metal-rimmed glasses on her nose, Emma quickly typed in the password to the computer that she was sitting at. It had taken her damn near a month to obtain it without raising suspicion and now was the time to act. She had enough of this charade of being a ditzy, yet sexy receptionist named Jessica for the slime that ran one of the lower Roxxon offices.

When she had approached Fury on the subject of returning to work on an as needed basis, he was thrilled. He said that he would make sure that she was home every night and only keep her away from Audrey if it was absolutely necessary. So it was settled – mainly domestic missions for her. Yet there was one thing that Fury made absolutely clear: she was not allowed to request anything about Clint's death. So if Fury wasn't letting her try to figure out who killed her husband then she would go after the next best target – Aleksander Lukin.

It had long been known that Lukin was a former KGB spy within the intelligence communities. Yet he had pushed away almost all his ties to the former Soviet Union away from him that it seemed that he was a reformed businessman now who was only interested in making a profit. Adding Roxxon Oil to the Kronas Corporation had been his latest move. It basically shielded him from being prosecuted in the US for certain crimes.

But Emma knew better. She had to find out exactly what he was up to.

In fact, her entire body knew better.

His only son, Alexi, was now rotting away in the Fridge for his father's crimes – trying to create a serum of some kind that would cause a person's organs to shut down and kill them. And she had been their only test subject and thankfully the S.H.E.I.L.D. doctors had managed to stop her organs from shutting down. Yet it did leave her with a unique talent – she could harness energy in her hands and arms that allowed for a "fiery" situation. Over the years she had learned to control it.

But still she was pissed about it.

That was why she was obsessed with taking down Lukin. Revenge was best served cold.

She quickly finished with her download of all the files that she managed to get to before she pulled out the thumb drive and shoved it underneath her blouse and into her bra. Hopefully it would be safe there.

Glancing all out from behind the blinds of the office she was in, she quickly noticed that her new "boss", Viktor Skaya was making his way back down the hallway towards the office that she was currently occupying. She quickly grabbed a few files and acted like she had been filing some much needed paperwork in Skaya's filing cabinet. She bent over the low filing cabinet as her skirt pulled up shorter to reveal her legs – which she had to admit were one of her best assets.

She knew that Skaya loved to flirt and even harass his office staff. So she would use that to her advantage since she had be able to escape his office somehow without causing too much of a scene.

As Skaya entered his office, he smiled as he saw his newest receptionist, Jessica, leaning over his low filing cabinet. When he had hired her a few weeks ago, it had been for this reason alone - her legs and ass had mesmerized him. He slowly moved behind her and placed his hands on her hips.

He definitely got the reaction he wanted. She gasped and stood up straight as he spun her around to look at him.

"Mr. Skaya!" she exclaimed as she moved to slap him across the face. But he held her tightly in his grasp.

"Oh now come on Jessica. This is no way to treat your boss," he said as he leaned closer to kiss her.

That was when he felt that his hands were beginning to get extremely hot – almost to the point of burning. As he glanced down at where he was holding Jessica's arms, he noticed something odd, yet frightening. Jessica's arms were glowing in a reddish-orange color. He quickly pulled back his hands and tried to cool them down by rubbing them together. While he wasn't paying attention, his new receptionist kneed him in the groin. He immediately fell into a kneeling position on the floor. "You cunt!" he yelled. "I'll make you pay!"

"I'm so sure," she said as she sent a roundhouse kick to his head – knocking him completely out. Once he was down for the count, Emma straightened up herself and quietly made her way out of the office.

Putting the persona of "Jessica" back up to walked towards another receptionist's desk.

"Mr. Skaya gave me permission to leave early. My daughter is sick at school. Do you mind if I transfer all calls to you?"

The other receptionist shook her head no. "Thanks."

And with that Emma left.

* * *

"How many men did you kill to get this?" Maria Hill asked as she held the thumb drive in her hand.

"None. Just knocked one out." Emma said with a smile.

Hill glared at her. "Hey! I got the job done didn't I?"

Still not saying anything, Hill sighed. She knew how Emma could be – reckless. It had been years since a reckless streak had been seen in her.

And it would not bode well if another reckless streak emerged in her. Especially given what she had just been subjected to. There was no telling what damage she could really do then. "Go home, Emma and relax. You did good for your first mission back."

"Is that an order or an request?"

"Both."

Emma turned on her heel and strode out of the operations center.

Once she was gone, Hill took out her phone and sent an encrypted text message to Fury – '_Emma's reckless.'_

She hated to do this to Emma, but Fury had asked Hill to make sure that nothing happened to Emma since he was needed in D.C.

Hill had agreed to keep the director informed on what was going on.

Nobody wanted to see Emma hurt or dead. And if this was what it took then so be it.

* * *

Fury was in the middle of a debrief with Romanoff and Cap, when the text message from Hill came through. Glancing at the message, he sighed before setting down his phone.

"Trouble in New York?" Romanoff asked.

"You could say that," he replied turning his attention back to the schematics that the S.T.R.I.K.E. team was going to use regards to a take down of some domestic terrorists. Fury believed that they were after some weapons held at a nearby arsenal.

While Romanoff was paying attention to what Fury was describing to them, Steve turned his head slightly so that he could see what text message said – _'Emma's reckless.'_

Why was Fury keeping tabs on Emma? Was she back working for S.H.E.I.L.D.? If she was, then why was she acting reckless when she had Audrey to think about?

Perhaps after S.T.R.I.K.E. took down these domestic terrorists, he would take a few days off to visit New York. It had been a few months since he had seen Emma and Audrey. And talking on the phone every week or so wasn't the same. He knew that she had been doing better as the weeks went on, but he wanted to be absolutely sure.

* * *

_**AN:**__** Why is Emma reckless? Hmm….guess you just have to wait until next time to find out! Feedback is always welcomed!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Steve sighed as he walked down the sidewalk towards Emma's Brooklyn bookshop.

He wasn't even sure why he was doing this. Why had he driven all the way up to NYC just to see if Emma and Audrey were doing better than they had been? A phone call or a Skype conversation could have done just as well.

No. That was a lie. Steve missed being in Emma's presence. He missed Audrey's laughter at something funny on the television or at a trick that Elvis was successful at doing. He even missed Tony and Bruce almost blowing up Stark Tower at random times thanks to an experiment gone wrong. It was the simple things that he had grown accustomed to while he had been in NYC that he missed when he had been required to be in D.C.

Yet there was more to all of this then simply missing being around those he knew as family since he had woken up from his "deep freeze". While he missed all his friends, it was Emma who he thought about the most. Thoughts about her would come about at various times during his days in D.C. – what was she doing? Was she ok? Was she happy?

As Emma's bookshop came into view, that was when it finally clicked. He understood why he had been drawn back to NYC.

He was smitten with Emma.

He had been smitten with her since he had first met her almost two years ago in her bookshop. Over time, his feelings had grown for her. Yet he had to keep them bottled-up since she had been married to Clint.

Yet now things had changed – things had drastically changed.

Taking a deep breath, Steve opened the door to the bookshop. Hopefully he could keep his feelings suppressed for a while longer – just to make sure that Emma wanted the same thing he did. He would wait forever if need be. It had taken him this long to figure out his place in this modern world. Waiting a while longer for someone to spend it with wouldn't be that hard.

Or would it?

As he entered the bookshop, he inhaled the smell of old leather and paper. He loved that smell. Books had always been an escape for him when he was younger. Perhaps they were for Emma as well.

Looking around the shop, he noticed that no one was around. "Hello?" he called out, seeing if anyone was in the shop at all.

From behind the front counter came a familiar voice. "Just a second."

Smiling to himself, Steve made his way towards the front counter where he peered over the side to see what had occupied Emma. The sight that was on the floor behind the counter was quite amusing. Emma was surrounded by stacks upon stacks of books – some of which had fallen on top of her.

"Are you ok?" he asked walking around the counter and holding out a hand to her. She took a hold of it and he helped her out of the fallen pile of books.

"I am now," she said winking at him as she stood back up. "So now Captain America makes house calls?"

Steve couldn't help but smile at her last comment as he watched her dust herself off. "It depends on who for."

Emma smiled at him before bending over and picking up a stack of books and setting them on the counter. "If you aren't making a house call, then why are you here? Doesn't S.H.E.I.L.D. have all your time occupied in D.C.?"

"I took some time off."

Emma raised an eyebrow as she looked at him before picking up another stack of books. Steve figured that he better come up with something to add to his explanation and fast – he hated being dishonest to anyone, but this time he would make an exception. "I don't really like that whole Skyping thing," he added. "Technology is too much sometimes."

She nodded once she placed the stack of books down, understanding where he was coming from. She knew that he was still weary about using a lot of technology. She had been lucky to manage to get him to Skype with Audrey at times. Yet she had noticed that since Clint's death, Steve had often stepped up and done things for Audrey to make her happy – from reading to her when he had been in NYC before being called back to D.C. to Skyping with her because she had a funny story or something to tell him. "So how long are you staying?"

"Through the weekend. I didn't want to use up all of my time off at once."

"Well Audrey will be thrilled that you are here to see her first gymnastics competition this weekend. None of the others could make it because of a conference or something on the west coast. Hell if I know. Something to do with science."

"That sounds great," he said moving closer to her. He bent down and scooped up some of the fallen books off the floor and handed them to Emma. As he handed Emma the books, he couldn't help but catch a small smile spread across her face. That was when Steve knew that keeping his feelings bottled up for her was going to be a lot harder than he had first thought.

* * *

"Mommy!" Audrey squealed as she barged through the front door. She ran down the front hallway and into the kitchen where she skidded to a stop. "Guess what I did today at practice!"

"What?" Emma asked as she tussled her daughter's hair as she continued to prepare dinner.

"I got to swing on the rings even though only boys use them. It was fun!"

"I bet it was."

By then, Kaleigh had entered the house and dropped off Audrey's duffle bag from practice. "I'll see you on Saturday," Kaleigh said before she left to Audrey.

Once Kaleigh was gone, Audrey turned to look at her mother. She had a confused look on her face. "Isn't Kaleigh picking me up from school tomorrow?"

Emma shook her head no. "Tomorrow is Friday. You only go to Pre-K on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Oh."

That was when the front door to their townhouse opened and Elvis could be heard running down the hallway towards the kitchen. "Who is here mommy?" she asked, slowly understanding that someone else had just taken Elvis for a walk.

"Go see," Emma said with a smile.

Slowly, Audrey peered around the corner from the kitchen into the hallway. Standing there was her Uncle Steve.

"Uncle Steve!" she said happily as she took off in a run down the short hall. Steve knelt down and caught the brunt force of little Audrey easily in his opened arms. He hugged her tightly as he felt her wrap her arms around his neck. "I missed you!" she said happily as she hugged him.

"I miss you too"

By that time, Emma had moved to stand in the doorway and watch the scene unfold. The entire time she had a smile on her face. Audrey was slowly becoming herself once again. Hopefully this weekend would be good for her. The only thing Emma wanted in this world was for her daughter to be happy. And seeing Audrey's reaction to Steve being there was proof enough that Audrey was healing. While they had seen Tony, Pepper and Bruce since Steve had returned to Washington, D.C., Audrey never reacted the way she did when Steve was around.

Perhaps the feeling was mutual since Emma noticed that Steve had a smile across his face as he hugged Audrey. Yet it wasn't a smile that he was forcing himself to do just to put on a show for Audrey.

No.

This was a genuine smile.

And that made Emma wonder. Was it because he was truly happy or was it for other reasons? Deep down, she hoped it was because he was happy. It would crush her to find out otherwise.

* * *

The next day, Emma even took the day off so that she could spend more time with Audrey and Steve. She had been promising to take Audrey to the Brooklyn Zoo to see the Polar Bears, so she figured that this was as good a time as any to do so. Steve didn't have a problem with going to the zoo. He just wanted to be able to spend more time with his surrogate niece and the woman that was slowly winning over his heart.

During their time at the zoo, Emma noticed a few different things. The first thing that she noticed was how Audrey was opening up around Steve. She was laughing again and smiling – just like a little girl who was almost 6 years old should act like.

The second thing she noticed was that Steve tried to hide his identity while they were out enjoying the day. He had worn a baseball cap and rarely looked people in the eye during the entire day. She found it endearing that he did not want people to bother him that day and that he rather focus on Audrey.

It wasn't until later that afternoon, when the trio was taking Elvis for a walk in Central Park after their outing to the zoo that Emma noticed the third thing. She noticed that she finally had some normalcy in her life. Audrey was in Pre-K twice a week and would be starting Kindergarten in a few months. She was back working for S.H.E.I.L.D. on an as needed basis while also running her bookshops. Kaleigh was helping out where she could while she attended classes at NYU. Every so often she and Audrey would spend time with Tony and Pepper, along with the occasional Bruce. But even then, it sometimes wasn't enough. Yet this was her new normal. And while it wasn't that glamorous or even interesting at times, it was still her life and she wouldn't trade it in for anything.

Yet as she watched Steve interact with Audrey since his arrival the day before, she was left wondering something – could she want more to her new normal?

* * *

"This is the fastest that Audrey has fallen asleep in months," Emma said as she sat down on the couch in the living room. Steve sat in the oversized chair that was right next to the couch. He had found a book about the Vietnam War on one of Emma's bookshelves that he was currently reading.

"She did have a busy day," he said looking up at Emma from the book and smiling.

"That she did. Thank you for everything today, especially letting her pull you all over the zoo to tell you about the various types of animals."

"It was fun. I haven't had much of that in the last few months."

Emma sighed and looked down at her hands. "You know that it is because of you that I am alive," she gently said.

That peaked Steve's interest. He closed the book on the page that he was on and looked at Emma in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Has Fury ever told you about the infinity formula?" she asked looking back up at him.

"Yeah. Asked if I would donate some of my blood to see if it would stabilize it. Said that it could possibly save another Avenger's life someday."

"Well it worked. That's how I survived my injuries from the attack in Pakistan."

Steve didn't know what to say. He had known that someone had been given the mixture of his blood and infinity formula, he just was shocked to find out that it was Emma.

"We just don't know its limits yet," Emma said continuing with her explanation. "Supposedly the infinity formula was designed to be given on a yearly basis, but I think that your blood stabilized that issue."

"So it didn't enhance you any?"

"Haven't tried anything yet. All that we known for sure is that it speeds up my healing. I guess time will tell about what really happens."

"I guess…"

Emma smiled at him before standing up from the couch. "I think I am going to go ahead and head on to bed. Tomorrow is another big day as well with Audrey's gymnastics competition."

Steve watched as Emma moved towards him before leaning over and softly kissing his cheek. "Thank you again for everything," she whispered as she pulled back.

Not being able to respond, Steve smiled at her and watched her leave the room. Once he had heard her bedroom door softly click shut, he let out the breath that he had been holding. He smiled to himself as he placed his hand against the cheek that Emma had kissed. When her lips had met his skin, a shock of electricity had gone through him. He almost wanted to turn his head so that Emma's lips met his lips, instead of his cheek.

But damn. If a simple kiss on the cheek did this to him, he could only imagine what a real kiss with Emma would feel like. Yet he knew that it was still too soon after Clint's death to make his feelings known to her. He just needed the right moment to tell her everything and hope that she returned his affections.

It had just gotten a lot harder to keep his feelings in check. The next few days were going to be a struggle.

* * *

"So it's not so much a competition but more like a performance for the parents to see what their children have learned," Emma said as she and Steve moved to sit in the various bleachers that dotted the gymnasium. Kaleigh had already arrived and had been saving them seats. "All the children in Audrey's group are either 5 or 6."

"If that is the case then what are they going to do?" Steve asked as they sat down.

"Mainly show off their tumbling skills, what they know on the balance beam so far as well as how they can get up on the lowest bar of the uneven bars." Emma answered pointing out the different apparatus' to Steve. "She's still too young for the vault."

"Audrey's been excited for weeks about this. She has refused to let her mother come to any practices." Kaleigh added.

Steve chuckled a little as he turned his attention back towards the group of boys and girls who were standing in the middle of the floor. One by one each of the children went and performed their new skills for their parents. When it was Audrey's turn to go, someone behind where Emma, Steve and Kaleigh were sitting began to whistle and cheer loudly for her. Emma turned around and glared at person behind her. When she saw who it was, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"What?" Tony asked, winking at his sister. "Can't an uncle be proud of his niece?"

Sitting next to him, Pepper Potts simply shook her head in disbelief. Emma laughed slightly before turning her attention back on Audrey's performance.

* * *

Once the performances were complete, Audrey could not wait to see what her mother thought about how she did. "Did I do good?" she asked as Emma wrapped her arms around her daughter and kissed the top of her head.

"You did wonderful! I can't wait to show you my old tricks on the uneven bars when you are older."

"We have a future Olympian in the family!" Tony said moving to stand next to his sister. "You were amazing! Stupendous! Wonderful!"

Audrey giggled a bit as she went to hug her uncle. Then she turned her attention to Steve.

"You were the best one out there!" he said with a smile as he got the next hug from Audrey.

"So how about we go and get an ice cream to celebrate!" Tony suggested as he picked up Audrey's hand and headed towards the gym's exit.

The only thing that Emma could hear as her brother and daughter walked away from her was laughter coming from Audrey. Now this was exactly how her daughter should be.

Happy.

Emma smiled to herself as she began to walk along side of Steve as they followed behind Tony and Pepper as Tony lead Audrey down the street. And for the first time in a long time, she was happy. Yet she found herself questioning her own emotions.

Was it too soon to be happy?

* * *

"Ok put one hand here," Emma said as she moved Steve's hand to her hip. "And then you hold my other hand as we move back and forth to the music."

Steve followed both Emma's directions as well as her lead as he hesitantly held Emma close to him. After Audrey had gone to bed, Steve and Emma were talking about the plans for Tony and Pepper's upcoming wedding. Since Emma was going to be the Matron of Honor, she was in the middle of much of the planning. Once thing that Steve admitted was that he did not know how to dance. And when Emma offered to show him, he jumped at the opportunity to be able to hold Emma close to him – even if it was just for a moment.

"Now you take the lead," Emma said part way through the slow song that she had chosen – something called _Then You Look at Me _by someone Steve had never heard of. He had to admit that the lyrics did suit him perfectly – talking about being lost until the one that he was smitten with looked at him and then suddenly everything seemed in place.

Steve slowly moved back and forth across Emma's living room, holding her as they danced.

This was exactly what he wanted in life. He was certain of it.

As the song finished, their dancing slowed. "See I knew that you would learn quickly!" Emma said smiling at him.

"I have a great teacher."

Emma blushed.

That was when something in Steve clicked. Without even thinking, he placed a hand against Emma's cheek and leaned down towards her lips. But before he could kiss her, Emma turned her face and quickly kissed his cheek before pulling out of his arms.

"I'm really tired," she quickly said, turning away from him. "I'm head onto bed. I'll see you in the morning."

"Yeah…" was the only thing that Steve managed to get out as he watched Emma walk away from him once again.

* * *

Shutting her bedroom door behind her, Emma slid down and sat on the floor against the door. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she rested her face against her knees as she allowed the tears that she had been holding back to finally fall.

Why was fate being so cruel to her?

She was finally in a good place – a place where she is stable.

Then a curveball is thrown at her.

She had known it was only a matter of time before she felt that she could love again – before she wanted to allow anyone into her heart again.

Just not this soon.

But that wasn't the only thing that scared her.

No, it was the realization that someone out there had feelings for her.

Or did he?

* * *

_**AN**__**: The song that I mentioned is sung by Celine Dion. Also, I know that there are people out there who are adding this story to their alerts or even their favorites list. But please, pretty, pretty please leave me some feedback as well! Reviews make me happy and make me write faster!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

"He did what?" Emma asked in disbelief. She and Pepper were meeting for lunch a few months prior to when Pepper and Tony would finally get married. It had been almost two years since Tony had proposed to Pepper. Since Emma was stuck at the Manhattan bookshop of the two that she owned thanks to one of her employees calling in sick. She figured that she would be able to get some much needed paperwork done while her other two employees ran the actual bookshop. Pepper had surprised Emma with lunch so they could talk about wedding plans.

"He bought a castle." Pepper said with a laugh in her voice.

"Why?"

"He said that he wanted to treat me like a queen and thought that we should get married in a castle."

Emma could not help but roll her eyes and she leaned back in the desk chair that she was sitting in. The wedding day was fast approaching and Emma was thrown into the middle of it all. She had taken it upon herself to keep both her brother and her future sister-in-law in check - more so Tony than Pepper. And so far she was failing.

She had come to the conclusion that her brother had taken too many hits to the head as Ironman. Who in their right mind buys a freaking castle?

Then again this was Tony Stark. She remembered several stories from the tabloids over the years that she had read about him. Some of it had been true, while some of it had been blown out of proportion. Even Tony admitted that to her.

But still.

A castle?

Emma's mind stayed on the entire castle idea as Pepper continued on telling her about things that she had already gotten for the wedding and things that she still needed to do.

"…so he's having Rhodey, Bruce and Steve…" Pepper said.

"What about Steve?" Emma asked as she snapped out of her thoughts.

"I was saying that he, Rhodey and Bruce were all going to be apart of the wedding party as well."

"Oh," Emma said blushing a bit as she pretended to look over the invoices for her shops. Pepper looked at Emma with interest. Did Emma have a thing for the Capsicle as Tony often called him?

"How about you and Audrey come dress shopping with me this weekend?" Pepper suggested. "We'll make it a girls day out."

"Don't you already have your wedding dress?"

"I do. But you don't have yours as matron of honor and we still need to find Audrey's flower girl dress."

Emma knew that Pepper was right. Perhaps some shopping would take her mind off of things for an afternoon – primarily her feelings about America's Golden Boy. Ever since his last visit, Emma could not stop thinking about Steve. Especially her thoughts about what it would feel like to kiss Steve's lips.

"Sure, we'll go shopping." Emma said with a smile.

* * *

Steve sighed as he ended to Skype call with Audrey, who was telling him about the new gymnastic moves that she had learned as well as showing him Elvis' new trick – balancing a dog treat on his nose until given the command to eat it. While he had been happy to hear from her, he was even happier to see Emma's smiling face appear in the video conversation at one point – she had simply said hello as she had gone about fixing their dinner. It had been several weeks since he had seen them for the extended weekend back in NYC.

And each day since then, Steve could not get the feeling of how Emma's lips felt against his cheek out of his head. What he wouldn't give to be able to actually kiss her lips after he had confessed to her that he had been smitten with her since the first time that he met her after the Battle of New York.

Yet part of him was holding back.

He didn't know if it was too soon to confess his feelings since Clint had died less than a year ago. But each day that he went without making his feelings known to her, the worse he felt. He knew that he had to make his feelings known sooner than later. There was no other way.

He had held them back long enough.

And maybe, just maybe, Emma would return his affections.

* * *

Emma and Pepper waited outside of the dressing room where Audrey was trying on yet another flower girl dress in one of the many bridal stores that Manhattan had to offer. While they had already been to three different stores, Pepper had not been able to find a suitable flower girl dress at any of them. Lucky for Emma, the bridesmaids dresses, along with hers, as Matron of Honor had been decided on at their first stop.

Now at stop number 4, everyone seemed to be getting antsy to find Audrey's dress. They had spent the better part of a day shopping. Emma nor Audrey ever spent that much time shopping, neither did Pepper. Perhaps that was why they were all tired of it. Hopefully out of the five dresses that Pepper and Audrey had agreed on, one of them would work.

Pepper still was curious about Emma's feelings towards Steve. Her reaction the other day when his name was simply mentioned was the first clue. Now she needed to dig a little deeper. "So has Steve come back for any more visits?" she flat out asked.

As soon as she asked her question she noticed that Emma's body tensed up for a moment before she turned to look at her. "No, not since the one a few weeks ago. Why do you ask?"

"It just seems that he's become a big part of your life since Clint's death. I mean Audrey talks to him more then she does Tony."

"Yeah she does…" Emma said as a smile spread across her face, almost as if she was thinking about something.

"You have a crush on him, don't you?" Pepper asked in a hushed whisper. She knew as soon as Emma had smiled while she was thinking about something…or someone.

Before Emma could answer, Audrey came out in the first of the five dresses. She modeled it for her mother and soon-to-be-aunt before going back into the dressing room for the next dress. As soon as Audrey was gone, Emma turned to look at Pepper. "What makes you think that I have a crush on him?"

"The way that you have reacted each time I mention his name."

slowly a red tinge spread across Emma's face and Pepper knew that she had been right all along. Pepper simply smiled. "I take it that you haven't made your feelings known yet?"

Emma shook her head no as she looked away from Pepper. "I'm not even sure if I'm supposed to be happy whenever he is around. It hasn't even been a year since Clint died…"

"What does your heart tell you?"

"That's the point. My heart is telling me one thing while my brain is telling me another."

"You are like Tony in that way. Always thinking with your brain and not listening to your heart as often as you should."

Emma chuckled a bit. "So if that is the case, then what should I do?" she asked.

"Go with what feels right. Typically I've found that what feels right is what my heart wants."

Taking what Pepper said into consideration, Emma thought about her entire ordeal with Steve. Her world seemed to feel right whenever he had been around or even when they talked on the phone for just a few minutes. Perhaps Pepper was right. What felt right was what her heart wanted.

Now Emma just had to find the right words to tell Steve how she felt.

And the perfect chance to do that was coming up in a few weeks – Tony and Pepper's wedding.

* * *

_**AN**__**: Feedback is always welcomed and I promise after next chapter things pick up!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Emma smoothed out her dress as she checked herself in the mirror. Her nerves were making her a bit antsy. She knew that she would be seeing Steve in just a few minutes at Tony and Pepper's rehearsal dinner. And hopefully tonight she would be able to talk to him alone. She had many things to tell him – mainly the fact that she was falling for him…

But the question was how was she going to do that.

Why was she so nervous about confessing her feelings to Steve? Perhaps it was the fact that the only other person that she had ever dated was the one that she ended up marrying and having her precious daughter with.

This was going to be a lot harder than she thought as she turned away from the mirror and left the suite that she and Audrey were sharing for the weekend at Singer Castle, in which her brother had purchased with the idea of keeping it how it was currently functioning as – an escape for those who want to get away from the city life for a few days. Well that was at least what Tony told her when she had asked him why he bought a castle in the first place.

As she began to make her way down the hallway, she looked around for Audrey. She had made sure that Audrey had been dressed first before allowing Audrey to leave the suite to find her uncles. Yet Emma had known better.

Audrey was on a mission to find her favorite uncle.

Right on cue, Emma heard Audrey's laughter before she spotted Audrey being carried on Steve's shoulders down the hallway towards the courtyard where the wedding rehearsal was taking place. Emma could not help but smile.

The feelings about Steve that she had been pushing away suddenly came surging to the surface as her heart was sent racing at the sight of him. Ever since her admission to Pepper about her feelings towards Steve, she had been having an internal debate with herself. Was it too soon? Was she ready? What would happen if Steve rejected her? Yet each time she had thought about the "almost" kiss in her living room several months ago, she couldn't help but blush. At the time she couldn't fathom the idea of ever having feelings for another human being like she had shared with Clint. But now things were different – she was harboring feelings for America's Golden Boy, Captain America.

While part of her wanted to say no to even telling Steve her feelings, there was the fact that Audrey loved her Uncle Steve. And Steve was great with Audrey. He always was willing to do whatever needed to be done to make Audrey happy. And in retrospect, it made Emma happy.

And seeing how happy both Audrey and Steve were made Emma realize that she had to talk to Steve. No matter how nervous she was.

* * *

Steve watched as Emma laughed at something that Bruce had told her. a small smile spread across his face. This was how Emma should be all the time – happy.

While he had every intention on telling Emma how he felt about her, he still had not yet found the right time. He had planned on telling her sometime during this weekend, yet with the way things were going, he might not get that chance.

As soon as he had arrived, he had to rush to get ready for the rehearsal then there was the dinner that had followed. The entire time Emma had been occupied by something – either with Audrey or doing something for Pepper to even talking to various people who had attended the rehearsal dinner. It almost seemed as if she was avoiding him. So until he could find the perfect time to tell Emma how he felt, his feelings would remain his own.

Yet each time he saw Emma, it was getting harder and harder not to pull her into his arms and kiss her deeply on the lips like he had wanted to do for several months now.

Hopefully soon he would get the chance to do just that.

* * *

Finally a moment to herself to gather her thoughts. The entire night had been one thing after another – wedding rehearsal, meeting more of her father's former friends, tending to a scraped knee that Audrey had gotten while playing with some of the other children who had come for the wedding to finally getting to talk to some of her Avenger teammates. Everyone with the exception of Natasha had made it for Tony and Pepper's big day. Emma learned from Bruce that Natasha couldn't make it because she was on some sort of mission for S.H.E.I.L.D. – deep undercover. She fondly remembered those days as well.

Yet the one person she had not spoken to that night was Steve. Many of the people at the rehearsal dinner had occupied Steve's time by asking questions about the past and even how he was adjusting to the present. And without causing a fuss, Steve had politely talked to everyone who had wanted to meet him. Hopefully she would get a chance to talk to Steve alone.

Until then some fresh air was needed.

As she stood out in the courtyard looking out across the St. Lawrence River in the full moon light, she sighed in relief. While she desperately wanted to tell Steve her feelings, she was still nervous. Fears about being rejected slowly crept their way to the surface of her conscious. She would be devastated if her feelings were not returned. That had been one reason that she had not sought out the affections of others when she was in her teens – fear of being rejected.

Something moving behind her caught Emma's attention. She turned and was face to face with whom she had just been musing about.

Steve was standing behind her with a slight smile on his face. While seeing and spending more time with Emma made his world seem brighter and less confusing at times – it was the times that he caught her in deep thought that he enjoyed the most. He found that since Clint died, the times that Emma seemed most like her old self was whenever she was lost in thought. If only he could find a way to breech the subject of his feelings with her. He was too scared to do so – especially with all that she had gone through the last nine months. Heck, it had even taken him just as long to figure out what his own feelings towards her were.

"Audrey fell asleep in Bruce's arms. I was coming to find you to see if you wanted me to carry her back up to your room," he said as he moved closer to her, quickly coming out of his thoughts.

"That would be great," she said returning his smile.

Steve turned back towards the door to head back inside to gather a sleeping Audrey from Bruce's arms. He could have kicked himself for not taking a chance at the moment. Why hadn't he told her how he felt? It was the perfect time to do so! They were alone out here with no one to bother them.

"Wait, I'll come with you," she quickly said, moving towards him. Steve stopped and waited for her. Perhaps now he could bridge the issue of his feelings with her.

Yet something else happened instead.

As she moved next to him, Emma took ahold of his hand and looked up at him. "Thank you for being so good with her. The last few months have been hard on her," she said pausing. "As well as on me."

"Audrey is amazing, just like her mother." Steve answered with a sincere tone in his voice.

That was when something in her snapped. Emma leaned up and wrapped her arms around Steve's neck as she pulled herself up towards him. Steve responded and leaned closer the woman that he had been longing to kiss and hold close to him for several months. That was when her lips met his and a fire exploded within each of them. Emma felt herself melting against the Captain's lips as she pressed herself against his firm body as Steve moved his hands to her hips so that he could hold her close. The actual feeling of Emma's lips against his was far better than he had imagined. His last kiss had been so long ago with a woman who still held part of his heart, yet this kiss was far different. This kiss felt right, almost as if this was were Steve belonged.

While their kiss wasn't a long kiss, it still was enough to make each of them breathless. For a moment, neither of them said anything as Steve pressed his forehead against Emma's as they continued to stand in the moonlight.

"I'm…I'm sorry," Emma said trying to pull away from Steve a few seconds later once she realized what she had done. She couldn't believe what had come over her. Clint's death hadn't even been a year ago and here she was kissing another man.

"I'm not," he said still holding her close to him. "I've wanted to do that for several months."

"You have?"

Nodding slightly, Steve leaned in and gently kissed her lips again. Emma pressed herself up against Steve as she urged the kiss deeper. Without much pressure, Steve willing gave into Emma's advances. He knew that he could not get intoxicated, but as he kissed Emma, he felt that he could.

"So what are we now?" Emma asked as she looked up at him as she pulled back from his second kiss. "Because this is well past the idea of just being friends."

"I'm not sure either. But I do know that I want to take you out on a real date."

"That I can do," she said with a smile as she turned and pulled out of his arms, but held onto his hand as she pulled him inside to gather up Audrey and take her up to bed.

With a smile, Steve followed behind her. As he did, he realized that slowly his world was beginning to make more and more sense.

* * *

"You may now kiss the bride."

Cheers erupted as Tony leaned in and kissed Pepper's lips.

Emma couldn't help but watch with a smile on her face. She knew that her brother was ecstatic to finally call Pepper his wife. As she stood watching Tony and Pepper, her eyes glanced over to where Steve stood right behind Rhodey as a groomsman. She couldn't help but blush as her eyes met his and the smile on Steve's face just grew.

After their impromptu kiss in the moonlight the night before, Steve carried Audrey to bed for Emma. Once Audrey had been tucked into bed for the night, he and Emma sat in the small sitting area of the suite Emma was in and talked. Much to her surprise, Steve admitted his feelings towards her, while Emma did the same.

Now that everything was finally in the open, it was decided that they would take things slow.

And perhaps over time, they too, would have a happy ending together.

* * *

_**AN**__**: Woo hoo! Feelings are out in the open! Please let me know what you think. Also it had been about 9 months since Clint's death – for those of you who missed it. **_

_**If you don't have an update for a few days, do not worry! I'm having surgery tomorrow and if I can manage to coherently type a chapter, I will. But no promises!**_


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